BY THE WAYSIDE

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 86, 28 April 1937, Page 15

BY THE WAYSIDE

News Of Interest To. H.B- Farmers THE TEETH OF SHEEP It is generally recognised that sheep 's front teeth eome up earlier in some dis» tricts than in others. This ls aimost certainly related to the nutrition of tha young sheep, and probably is also influenced to some extent by worm infestation. It is, perhaps, not so generally recognised that poor nutrition while the teeth are coining up may cause the teeth to wear doWn abnornlally quickly. The first, and less often the seeond, pair of front teeth sometimes wekr down a year after coming up whefi the young eh'eep have been poorly fed. As niany as 40 per cent. of ; two-tooths niay show abnormal wear in poorjy developed animals. App&rently it is the nutrition while ,the teeth are growing which largely determines whether they Will wear normally Or not, rather than the type of pa'stjire they are on later. Obviously tibnormally sbft teeth are of great importance becaUse the useful life Of a sheep is iargely determined by the condition of the teeth. In districts Where the ceeth show abnormal wear an effott should be made to improve the diet of the young sheep, and they should be given a mifaeral lick, such as botie meal and salt.

Pig's Temperature. The temperature of the pig's body is normally 102.6 deg. f\ It varies from this to a degree or so higheir, and is higher than noraal in very young animals, The temperature is taken with a clinical thermometer, aud to obtain corfect normal temperatixre the animal should be normal, for Its bodily heat rises aftepa meal or after vigofoiis eXercise, and is, of course, higher at the ime the sow is approaching or passing hrough her farrowing period. It is dgher during humid weather and when ully fed than under the reverse condiuons. The temperature of the pig is ! taken by means of a clinical theri mometer inserted into the back pasj'4hg"e (the aiiUS) and held therC for flOt less than 60 seconds, and for preference a longer peri&d if the animal iB quiet and readily haudled. Bull Management. The bull shoiild be kept away from the rest of the herd in a separate run which is secutely fenced and provided with water and shelter. A small ser* vice yard and 4 Crush to faciltate the handling of the bull when necessary should also be provided. The advantages gained by keeping the btxll away from the herd are: — 1. Calving can be regulated. 2. It is easier to decide Whether or not the cow is in calf. 3. The bull's Bervices are controlled aud not wasted. 4. There is less iikelxhodd of the , cows having to return the bull. If the run is not erected ^longside a toad the aunoyance caused by a neighbour's cows breaking into the bull or the bull breaking OUt is avoided. There is always the danger that other cattle may be feuffering from contagious abor tion or yaginitis, which are dangerous to the farmer's bwn herd. iutter-BoxOs, The restriction by the New Zealand Government on the export of white pine, which is used extensively in the manufacture of butter-boxes, will place the Australian dairy industry in a serious position unless a suitable substitute can be found, states the Australasian. Experiments carried out some years ago proved that Australian timbers were liable to taint the butter, and consequehtly tb9 industry has since relied on New Zealand white pine for its supply of boxes for both the export and domestic markets, The Rrimafy Producers * tTnion has now approached the Acting-Prime Minister (Dr, Page) urging that thfe Council for Scientific and Industrial Research should conduct experiments with Australian timbers to ascertain if some of them can be treated to be used for butterboxes for the butter m&rheted in Australia. It is suggested that if the timbers were treated with a casein preparation or lined with triplw tinfoil the taint might be overcome.

*lieep Tallying. Varied methods of tallying are ftdopted by men whose keen eye follows the ruteh aad jump of flock Sheep down the race or through ihe gates, of drafting yards. There may, or may not, be among doGkmasters in the vari ous States some who, by '.nherited tradition or stored record, have knowledge of the couut kept by English shepUerds in days cone by, A century ago the famhand, keeping his eye on every niovement of the charges, would keep tnontal thlly by repeating to himself as. the sheep sped by: Wintehrum) ^ntherum, Wintherum, twontherUraj wag toile, for the first five in the count, 4nd m a contiuance of similt • quaint terms would proceet with the count. of 5 to 20 by rfeciting: Whitobelly, coram, dar, diddte, dcn; e therum, atBerum, Shoo tlicrum, cootherum, wndbhr; bobtnil, tnadik, dyadik, mumpit, ecach-taliy, for purpoaes of rhythm in tlie count, each fifth word, as the reckoning was , .sung or chanted, was speclallj em* phasised, and with the 20th sheep reeorded a finger Of the shepherd's lefl iiand was raSsed, a "handful" of sheep thtis accounting for 100 tallied. Wy chis means, the right hnnd Mlowing the loft, sheep drover's on downs and fells kept a count of 200 in their two fist's, and by a notch or by handing the

count record on to a eompanion who kept check of the progress eounts On his own fingers^ the full flock streilgth was made knowa, even where absence oi schooling ruled out the numericai eounting that is general ability to-day. The term ecach-tally for each 20 th sheep stressea the familiar and longestabli'shed word Which, alt'hougb utilised Over a wide range of reckoning, has its primary and eipecial pastOral significance. ihe Oow and. Calf. As calving timo approacheS, the Udder Of the COw begi'nS to sWell and frequently an enlargement appears in front of the udder. It is soft and painless and sometimes as large as a half-bushel measure. However, it is nothiftg to worry a'bout and iB usually an indicatiott of a good milking cow. A similar swelling may spread out back and above the udder tow&rd the tail. It is due to the congestlon of the udder afid will dlsappfear shortly after the cow is milked a few 'tiffies. Sometimes the owaer ls tempted to milk the cow before aho has calved, because the udder becomes So large he fears it will break, it is a mistafee tb start milking before the cow calves unlesg the udder becomes Inflamed and is hot and painful, so that it interferes with movetnent or causes the CoW to go off feed, The additioa of a little iodine to the diet, particularly during the last part of preghancy, will show a better, more sturdy crop of calves, A simple Way to use it is to put a 10-grain tablet of potassium iodine in the drinkhig eup once or twice a week for the last half of pregnancy.